web hosting

The Benefits of Country-Specific Domains

When going to register a domain name, you probably look for something with a .com TLD or decide to settle on .net if your first choice is not available.  This is very understandable being that both of them add more professionalism and credibility to your web presence.  While neither of these extensions make a bad choice, there are several reasons why you may want to consider registering a country-specific domain instead.

SEO Benefits

There are many cases when the major search engines will provide higher search engine rankings for web pages that have country-specific TLDs.  For example, if an internet user from Canada is searching for software consulting services in that specific country, the site at mysoftware.ca may rank higher than another website with a .com extension selling the same product.  This type of domain can also help increase your visibility through directories commonly referenced by local web surfers.  Directories make a great way to enhance search engine rankings and build qualities links that lead to more traffic to your website.

Boost Customer Confidence

Having a country-specific domain can help increase confidence in customers as many of them feel more comfortable purchasing from local merchants.  For them, it makes it much easier to track their sales and follow up with any questions or concerns regarding the product.  Even though business is conducted across international borders everyday, some customers would just like to know that they are dealing with someone residing in the same country rather than one operating in a foreign locality.

Better Identify Your Audience

Another benefit to country-specific domain names is that you are better to identify where your customers are actually located.  This makes things more convenient for both you and the customer.  You can easily display products and services targeted at shoppers in that particular region and customers do not have to worry about choosing the geographic area they are located in.  Again, this gives your site that local feel and instills the confidence the customer needs to feel safer doing business with you.

Maximize Your Potential

When factoring in their distinct advantages, you may want to consider registering both a country-specific TLD and a traditional extension such as .com or .net.  This is a simple but strategic move that makes your business appealing to both international and national audiences.  You should never overlook the potential sales and business that can be reaped from a domain name and all it takes is another small investment for an additional name that could result in huge benefits.

Conclusion

There are many domain name extensions available and the ICANN seems to be adding new ones on a regular basis.  The country-specific variation represents a very broad category and as you can see, offers a wealth of benefits.  While you have a vast selection to choose from, you should always keep yourself open to such an excellent opportunity that could help you attract other markets and extend your reach online.

Amaxus CMS Gets a Serious Upgrade

The Amaxus content management tool has been on the CMS market since 2001.  However, isn’t wasn’t until September, 2009 that the product was properly introduced to the web.  The platform has improved considerably with the release of Amaxus 4.0 and this version could be exactly what BoxUK needs to makes its web CMS a true competitor on the market.

Noteworthy Improvements and Features

Amaxus officially got its start about eight years ago and actually utilized an early version of the popular development technology now known as AJAX.  Since the initial release, the platform has undergone major changes through four version releases, each attempting to keep up with the rapidly evolving web technology and fast changing times.  Amaxus 4.0 currently focus on six main factors:

1. Streamlined User Interface – Amaxus has been designed from the ground up, focusing on usability to help the user get tasks done in a much easier way.

2. Universal Search Capabilities – Locating content and information on an Amaxus site is made simple by a built-in search system that performs much like a traditional web search engine.

3. Content Support – Axamus is capable of handling all types of content.   A content and classification module gives the CMS the ability to intelligently publish and manage content types that range from simple text and documents to rich media and databases.

4. Workflow and Versioning – Axamus offers all the administrative features you would expect from an enterprise CMS.  This includes content versioning and rollback, advanced workflow, a role-based permission system and more.

5. Control – With Axamus, you can manage far more than basic content.  You can also control functionality, site design and various other elements all through an intuitive graphical user interface.

6. Enhanced Search Engine Rankings – Amaxus offers a number of integrated features designed to help improve search engine rankings.  This includes an SEO checking tools customizable URLs and standards compliant page output.

Social Networking Capabilities

The Amaxus CMS puts a lot of emphasis on social networking and content distribution.  It also has several features to help you distribute your content to other sites.  Some of the most notable include the ability to publish an unlimited number of RSS feeds, automatically publish your content in the form of Tweets, and a REST API that allows you to publish content on popular social networking sites such as FaceBook and YouTube, as well as another tool that allows visitors to promote your content on social bookmarking sites like Delicious, Digg and StumbleUpon.

Conclusion

You can learn more about the Amaxus CMS by visiting the official website.  The site is easy to navigate and offers a tour on how the product can be used to power your own website.  It explains the features and benefits and also talks about the technology behind the platform and the advantages of its open-source nature.  In addition, the website offers a Showcase and Resources page that contains case studies and screen casts of the product for users who need a little more convincing.

SEO Considerations for Web Hosting

Choosing a web hosting solution that aids in your SEO efforts can be a challenging.  In order to make an informed decision, you need take various factors into consideration, including features, technical support and price among other vital aspects.  This article will provide some golden tips that will give you the best possible change of succeeding with your SEO campaign.

Company Background – In the web hosting industry, track record is everything.  For this reason, it is important that you find out how long prospective hosts have been in the business.  This is critical because new companies enter the market all the time but many of them fold within the first year.  These flight-by-night hosts leave you out of your money and a website.  Experience varies but you at least want to sign up with a company that has been around for a couple of years.

Services and Features – Apart from SEO tactics, you need to make yourself familiar with some of the technologies involved in the web hosting arena.  For example, you need to have an idea of how much disk space and bandwidth your website will require to support files and traffic.  You also might want to check out the email options for keeping in touch with your clients as well the provided tools designed to help you boost search engine rankings.  Hosting providers are increasingly offering features such as keyword optimizers, web stat utilities, Google Webmaster tools, unique IP addresses and others that make it easier to optimize your website and maintain rankings.

Support Considerations – Whether SEO is involved or not, support is one of the most vital aspects of any hosting solution.  This is one point that simply can’t be stressed enough as the host forms that crutch you need to even run an optimized site.  The hosting provider’s support staff should be there whenever you need help whether it is a week day, week night or rare hour over the weekend.  Finding this quality in a web host isn’t as easy as it sounds because support on the market ranges from outstanding to virtually non-existent.  You could be doing everything right but without quality support, your SEO efforts are likely to prove futile.

Cost Factor - The last consideration on our list relates to price because let’s face it, no one ever wants to overpay for anything.  You definitely want to keep your eyes on the price, especially when looking into a company that advertises their service as “SEO web hosting.”  They could be doing so because a special set of search engine optimization tools are included in the package, or simply trying to bank off a fast growing niche market.  If you don’t mind paying a little extra to boost your rankings, just make sure you are getting value for every dollar you invest.

Conclusion

There are several web hosts out there but few have your best interests in mind when it comes to SEO.  This is why it is so vital to do your homework.  Without a reliable hosting solution, you can optimize all you want and still won’t even sniff the pages of Google.

The Pros and Cons of Keyword-Rich Domains

When it comes to choosing a domain name, there are numerous strategies one can employ to ensure they make the best selection possible.  One strategy that is often recommended is the implementation of a popular keyword relative to your niche.  While there are obvious advantages to such a move, there are also instances where it could work to your disadvantage.  This article will go over both sides of the spectrum.

The Bright Side

The way some explain it, you might believe that incorporating a keyword into your domain will automatically result in high search engine rankings for that particular term.  This might be the case in an uncompetitive market but let’s face it, those fields are far and few these days.  In fact, it is quite debatable how much search engines take your domain URL into account.  Be that as it may, every step helps in the battle to increase search engine visibility.  A good keyword-rich domain will definitely come in handy when submitting your site to directories and participating in link exchange programs.  It will also allow you to have your domain name become bolded in the search engine results, putting emphasis on what your site is all about.  Therefore, even if its only a small boost, it goes a long way in achieving those quality rankings you desire.

The Downside

The main disadvantage to keyword implementation is the likelihood that your domain will be similar to the competition’s.  Just think about how many URLs have the terms “web hosting” in them.  In such a highly competitive niche, your domain will be strikingly similar to the next, a factor that might lead potential clients to believe they have already paid you a visit.  Trying to leverage a popular keyword or phrase could also lead to a domain name that is too long, difficult to remember and doesn’t necessarily apply to your specialties.  This could end up limiting both your click-through and conversion rates.  If this is the road you decide to take, keep in mind that people are more likely to associate you with generic keywords rather than the actual name of your business.

Search Engine Rankings vs. Brand Awareness

Before registering a domain name, you must make the difficult decision of what is the most important: achieving high search engine rankings or establishing brand awareness.  Now let’s clear the air here – just because you choose to focus on your brand doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t get search engine rankings.  That goal just might take a bit longer to achieve.  If the name of your business is highly marketable, you probably want it to be well known throughout your niche.  Remember that this is no overnight thing as it could take months and possibly years to accomplish.  The rewards however, are worth the wait.  Just imagine having the name of your business come up whenever some mentions that particular niche.  On the other hand, if your company name is less marketable, establishing a brand name may not be as important.  In this case, you might be satisfied with getting good search engine rankings.  There is really no right or wrong here.  It’s all about what determining what works best for your website.

Changing Hosts Without Losing Rankings

Ever wonder why so many people stress the importance of choosing a good web hosting company the first time?  Well, there are actually several reasons, but one relates to the fact that switching to a new host is such a headache.  Let’s face it, changing servers without suffering considerable downtime is almost impossible.  If your website is down for too long, you stand the chance of losing visitors, customers and eventually sales.  While you can make arrangements to inform your customers about the move, the same can’t be said for your search engine rankings.

Though it is something you never look forward to, moving to a new web host should be a straightforward process that results in little to no time.  When done correctly, your position in the search engine will not be impacted in the least.  In order to enjoy a seamless transition, you need to follow these critical points:

Check the IP Address of the New Web Host

Though it rarely occurs, there are a few IP addresses that have either been banned or experience major issues.  The worst thing you can do is move from a host that can no longer meet your needs to another one sitting on an unfavorable IP rage.  If your web pages are associated with a troubled IP address, your search engine rankings will suffer greatly.

Perform a Full Backup of Your Website

Having a full backup of your website files makes it much easier to move to a new provider.  Besides, if anything goes wrong with the new service, you can run back to your old host and set up almost instantly.  It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Test Your Website

When changing web hosts, you will probably hurry to set everything up quickly and get back to business.  Even if the site looks fine on the surface, it is still wise to test all of your forms, applications and databases to ensure that everything is working properly.

Change Your DNS

After all of your files have been transferred to the new server and everything appears to be working correctly, it’s time to flip the switch and make it official.  All you have to do here is change your domain name servers from the old service to the new host.  This can be done easily through the control panel provided by your domain name registrar.   Simply switch out the old nameservers for the new ones and you are ready to go.  Just remember that you must wait for the domain to propagate which lets the internet know that your site has been moved.  This process generally takes anywhere from 24 to 48 hours.

Conclusion

The tips in this article should actually help you kill more than birds with one stone.  Now you know what it takes to move your website to a new server and endure the smallest amount of downtime possible.  Most importantly, you know how to keep your visitors and customers around and your search engine rankings intact.